According to new research, traditional carriers are more and more willing to work with third party OTT services. According to U.K. analyst mobilesquared, who analyzed a pool of over 40 mobile network operators, more than a third of the polled telecoms partnered with OTT providers. Apps like WhatsApp, WeChat, Skype, and Line command billions of regular, highly engaged users, which commands a certain sense of jealousy on the part of carriers. Indeed, mobilesquared expects the OTT market to be worth $53.7 billion, with a total of 2.1 billion users by 2017, with a total penetration of smartphone users at 66%. These stats are telling: the OTT, startup messaging era is upon us.